But I don't even think Eric got a bad edit. Edit implies some "truth" wasn't shown but the producers edited a certain way to show a certain something to push a certain plotline. In this case, I think Eric was just being himself. Didn't Millsy say that? He is genuine and that was really the way he is? I don't think they really had to "edit" it differently than the way it went down? As far as maturity, I disagree that Eric is immature. My son is about his age, and I find myself learning a lot from his inspirational quotes. Some are really sticking with me. I think he is an "old soul", he has depth that we rarely see on this show. We are all immature in some ways, everyone is different. I can name some contestants who are extremely immature for their age, but I feel like Eric is not one of them. If Eric has not fallen in love before, it may be because he knows what he is looking for and hasn't found it yet.

Imo, Eric seems super intense and poor guy is letting the show get to him way too soon in process. The other two MOT guys were being snakes, well especially that horrible Lee, and Iggy was being a tool and acting a bit condescending. But Eric came across a bit boyish, imo. Get it together!!

Eric is very good looking and seems sweet and accomplished. I am anxious to see more of him and his connection with Rachel cause it surprises me that he is f3. I personally think that Anthony, Will and Alex, in particular, along with Bryan and Peter, seem like better fits in terms of emotional maturity and confident guys. But, could all be the edit. All imo!!

FWIW, someone said on RS twitter - Latoya Jordan - that she saw Eric had won. Someone by the name of Steve Mcmillion (obviously funny haha) tweeted it out then deleted his account. This was on May 16, before the spoiler came out. She also said she was not sure, for obvious reasons, probably just someone fooling around. But curious... if just fooling around, why delete your account? Who knows? https://twitter.com/RealitySteve/status/864580810468413440

Everything she wrote in regards to Eric I was just nodding while reading. I have zero time for those other fools and to me Eric has been nothing but real and authentic and genuinely there for Rachel as Rachel said herself in her blog Eric kept it 100! Just like Sharleen, I am #TeamEric!

I had to make a .GIF of how deeply irritating Lee's personality type is. First, his "I'm being straightforward" reminded me of a tweet I recently liked. Also, I loved how wonderfully and exasperatedly Eric responds with a simple, truly straightforward, "I'm so confused!"

Like I said at Flare, if you're going to target or confront someone, fine. But don't flank your passive aggressive statements with "I love you"s. Is there anything worse than "I love you, but—", or "I'm sorry, but—"? UGH.

And as if the UGHs could not be any more emphatic...

Iggy, "maddened" by the fact that Eric has a rose while he doesn't, deems it his responsibility to throw Eric under the bus more than was already done on the Group Date. He opens with describing the Eric situation, while Rachel, being the coolest, most realistic Bachelorette ever, responds with...

Of course, to convince her, Iggy stretches the truth by saying Eric's comments were specifically about Rachel not being genuine (which, based on what we saw anyway, isn't true). However, when confronting Eric later—"like an adult" as he put it—he said Rachel specifically asked who made those statements (as though he opened with the statements and not who made them), and that he answered Eric. Of course, this is simply not true, as we JUST saw him open the conversation, where he LED with his reservations about Eric. Not very "adult"-like to me. Also note how Iggy too brings up Eric's "growth"...

Sounds an awful lot like Iggy and Lee have had a discussion about the ways in which their dear, beloved Eric can "grow", doesn't it?

Again, like I said at Flare, there are few things more deeply irritating than being treated like a subordinate by your equal. It's annoying when anyone inserts themselves and their opinions in your private conversation, à la Iggy, or when someone passively aggressively tells you about how much "potential" you have, à la Lee. What place do Iggy and Lee have telling Eric the ways in which he should "grow"? If you don't mesh with a person you're forced to live with, as Blake E should've done with Lucas, just avoid them and mind your own damn business.

You guys know by now I am always careful to observe the where-there's-smoke-there's-fire rule. I realize that based on all this smoke, it is possible Eric has some maturing to do, but frankly I haven't seen that, while I have seen behavior from both Iggy and Lee that would irritate and even anger me. In fact, I've found Eric's responses to Iggy and Lee to be super reasonable. And regarding his shouting later on... well, you could argue his biggest mistake is letting them get under his skin, especially since it only further incentivizes the guys to provoke and needle him. But other than that, it's safe to say I am staunchly #TeamEric.

@SFoster ITA. Sharleen has spot on instincts IMO when it comes to people and this show. I already was a fan of Eric since ATFR and like him more and more. To me he is totally real and even him asking if Rachel is taking this real (being on the show) tells me that Eric is taking this real.

He's scared and vulnerable already because he is in an uncomfortable situation where he has some real feelings and being targeted like he has been (IMO) honestly disgusts me. I think it's more than just the usual targeting compared to past seasons and I have zero time for it.

I wish I could say I am shocked but it sadly doesn't surprise me at all that Eric gets targeted by someone like Lee who is a true villian IMO and the lowest of the low when it comes to contestants on this show!

I am not at all looking forward to Eric getting hurt or attacked on this show. TPTB make me sick at what they are doing to Eric so I am glad that people like Sharleen are using their voices to support Eric and standing up to this BS!

@AllAboutLove Agree 100% with everything you've said! I can also see what made Eric question Rachel's motives because in episode 2, they had a nice moment at the group date cocktail party and Eric seemed confident of getting the gd rose. When she gives it to Josiah, he seemed pretty upset, and I can understand him maybe asking himself if she was as passionate with Josiah as with himself and what is going on with her? I'm sure some question the lead every season, with the choices they make to give some roses and send some home, but Eric is vocal about it. That's the difference.

I think Rachel is the best Bachelorette ever imo - classy, articulate, smart, savvy, yet down to earth too with a great sense of humor and very forgiving of some of these guys. But imo all the choices are not hers, I think producers want to keep Lee and others on as long as possible for the drama, to make the show more interesting, etc. And that does make me sad for what this is going to do to Eric. I think he is falling for her, and it's going to be heartbreaking if she doesn't choose him.

It always seems like the romance is "hidden" until htds, then all of a sudden they are "in love". Then the romance starts. Up until then, it's antics/drama/humor!

Eric is an impressive young man, imo. Out of approximately 1,000 seniors, here is in the class of 2010, one of 11 seniors profiled at HU: http://www.hamptonu.edu/news/connection/archive/may_2010/seniors.html

I can't find his twitter. There is an old one from several years back. Does he have an active twitter? Even the old one is impressive with quotes going back to when he was 22 years old. I don't know many 22 year olds who think or say these inspiration quotes, so his motivation quotes go way back at least 6 or 7 years.

Changing the subject, does anyone know where Eric was this weekend? Anyone keeping track of Eric? js